


bolt of blue

by caprileo



Category: Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions, Pocket Monsters: Black 2 & White 2 | Pokemon Black 2 & White 2 Versions
Genre: F/M, Love Confessions, Mutual Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Reunions, Travel, cheren is dumb sometimes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:21:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22393924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caprileo/pseuds/caprileo
Summary: after 2 years, hilda makes a surprise appearance at cheren's gym.
Relationships: Cheren/Touko | Hilda
Comments: 6
Kudos: 23





	bolt of blue

**Author's Note:**

> sorry about the weird pacing lol

"Now, in this case," Cheren said, walking to one side of the classroom, "Would a physical move or a special move work better?" He pointed to something on the blackboard, and a few students eagerly raised their hands, followed by a few timid ones. Cheren had only been teaching for a short time, but it already felt natural to him.

Unbeknownst to him, someone had quietly entered the building and stood propped in the doorframe. She watched intently as Cheren taught, a slight smile on her lips.

"Yes. Excellent," he responded to a question. He paced back to his original spot. "But, does anyone know what happens when a pokemon uses a move of it's own ty-"

Cheren froze as he spotted the figure in the doorway. She was wearing a different outfit than usual, and missing her trademark hat, but Cheren recognized her instantly. 

_Hilda_?

He stood in disbelief for a moment - he hadn't seen her for two years and here she was standing in his gym without so much as a text beforehand - before Hilda made a motion with her hand for him to continue on. He cleared his throat.

"Right. Sorry. Does anyone know what happens when a pokemon uses a move of it's own type?" A student raised their hand meekly and Cheren pointed his pen at them, quickly falling back into rhythm.

"The move has more power?"

"Exactly."

•••••

All of the students had finally left, and Cheren and Hilda stood alone in the corridor. A silence fell over them as Cheren tried to think of what to say. After a moment, he finally spoke.

"Hilda...what are you doing here?" he asked simply.

"What do you think?" Hilda smiled and tipped her head to the side. "I came to see you."

"Yeah, but... you..." Cheren said, trailing off at the end. He struggled for a moment to find words. Hilda's smile faded slightly, and her expression turned to one of sympathy.

"I know. We have a lot of catching up to do," she said. There was a beat of silence as she looked at Cheren thoughtfully. "Meet me in Nacrene City? I know a really good cafe."

"...Yeah." Cheren smiled. "Sure."

•••••

The cafe hadn't changed much in the time since either of them had last been there. The same golden wood, the same deep red awning, and the same accordion player that was always there. It was a warm day, so they sat out on the patio. 

"Do you remember when we first came here?" Hilda asked. Cheren nodded.

"Remember when we fought Team Plasma?"

"In the cave? Hah." she said with a proud smirk. "Our pokemon weren't even very strong then, but we still showed those Plasma grunts what's what."

"It really makes you think, doesn't it? Our pokemon fought against each other so many times, but when they had to fight on the same side, they did really well," Cheren said thoughtfully.

"Maybe that's why," replied Hilda. Cheren tipped his head to the side.

"What do you mean?"

"They knew each other's strengths and weaknesses from fighting all the time," Hilda explained. "Maybe it helped them support each other better in battle."

"That makes a lot of sense, actually," said Cheren, slightly surprised. Hilda was never one to think about the mechanics of battle. Cheren always wondered how she could seemingly crash headlong into every battle, relying on her instincts alone, and pull off a win every time.

"Or maybe... they just liked each other," Hilda giggled. Cheren rolled his eyes. There was a brief lull in the conversation as Hilda sipped her drink.

"So what are you up to now?" Cheren asked. Hilda's eyes lit up.

"Well, I've been thinking about traveling to different regions. Actually, I'm heading off to Sinnoh pretty soon," she said excitedly.

"Sinnoh?" Cheren repeated flatly.

"Yeah," Hilda replied. She excitedly continued on about the various things she would be doing there, but Cheren rapidly lost focus. He wasn't able to hide the dull look that came across his face. Hilda stopped talking and raised an eyebrow.

"You look upset," she said. 

"Will you at least keep in contact this time?" Cheren asked. A look of guilt flashed across Hilda's eyes for a brief moment before her expression changed into her usual sunny smile.

"Of course I will!" she reassured him. "And you could always just come with me, if you wanted to."

Cheren opened his mouth to speak, but stopped. His first instinct was to jump at the chance, but he quickly remembered how unrealistic it would be for him to just leave. He shook his head.

"I can't. I have too many responsibilities here."

Hilda's expression soured, and she crossed her arms. Silence hung in the air between them. Cheren's face softened.

"Oh, now you look upset," he said in a more sympathetic tone. "Even if I wanted to, I still have my gym to worry about. And I teach now." There was another beat of silence. Hilda fiddled with the straw on her drink.

"You know, when one of the Kanto gym leaders wants to leave his gym he just closes it," she said plainly. She looked back up at Cheren. "Or, you could have a temporary substitute!" she continued eagerly. "At least for the teaching stuff. I bet Lenora would do it, or... Bianca! She'd be good at that, right? She knows a lot about pokemon. And I'm sure it would be no problem for her-"

"Hilda." Cheren stopped her. Looking at Hilda's eager expression, he gave a sigh of resignation. "You really want me to go that much?" Hilda grinned.

"Of course I do! I just think it would be really fun. It'd be like a brand new adventure all over again!" she said. "And..." her voice grew quieter. "I just missed you. So... please?"

"I guess I could ask Bianca to watch the gym for a bit."

"Yes! I promise it'll be fun," Hilda said excitedly. "Oh and uh... about the Bianca thing... I kinda already asked her."

"What did she say?" Cheren asked.

"C'mon, it's Bianca. Of course she said yes." 

•••••

Soon they were in Sinnoh, and Hilda was bent on exploring every nook and cranny at a feverish pace. Cheren was more intent on studying the pokemon, as there were many he hadn't seen before. He wasn't a fan of Sinnoh's cold climate, but he enjoyed the region nonetheless. It had a sort of nostalgic charm about it. And he couldn't help feeling nostalgia for his first pokemon journey, either. There was a familiarity to exploring with Hilda. When they stood at a signpost, bickering over a map, or sat with their pokemon in front of a crackling fire, it reminded him of when they first set off years ago. 

Today they were at a hotel in Hearthome City, after a long day of traveling in the mountains. Cheren stood on a small balcony that overlooked the cobbled streets, leaning on the railing. Stoutland snored loudly in the corner. The whole city took on a mauve color in the evening light, and the street lamps gave off a soft flickering glow. A soft creaking sound came from the door as it was opened.

"Kinda reminds me of Village Bridge," came Hilda's voice suddenly behind Cheren. He hummed in agreement as she moved to stand beside him. A comfortable quiet fell over them as they took in the scenery. "What are you doing out here?" Hilda asked.

"Just thinking," Cheren mused.

"About what?" 

"Nothing in particular." Hilda's brow furrowed.

"You're confusing," she replied before they settled back into a silence. Cheren watched as a Murkrow landed on the spire of a large castle-like building. It sat there for a few moments, its feathers ruffling in the wind, before getting chased off by a large Staravia. 

"You know, this may seem out of the blue, but..." Cheren said, trailing off at the end. Hilda turned to look at him puzzledly. Cheren picked at a piece of black paint that was peeling from the iron railing. "You never told me why you were gone for so long." Hilda sighed.

"I was looking for N."

"Why didn't you ever call me?" Cheren asked. Hilda looked away.

"I just... I don't know. I had heard about you getting the gym and I just figured you'd be busy." 

"Busy for two whole years?" Cheren pressed on. Hilda shut her eyes.

"Cheren, I'm sorry. Look, I really don't want to argue about this. I should've called you, and I didn't, and I'm sorry. But can you please just let it go for now so we don't have to fight?" she pleaded. Cheren's gaze dropped to the ground.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I wasn't trying to start an argument. I just... I wanted to know." There was a beat of silence.

"So you're not mad?" Hilda asked, turning back to him.

"I'm not mad," he replied in a reassuring tone.

"Alright." Hilda's face broke into a relieved smile. "You should think about hitting the hay soon. We have to be up early tomorrow for Mt. Coronet." With that, she headed to the door to return to her room. She stopped when she got to the door and looked back over her shoulder. "Goodnight, Cheren."

"Goodnight, Hilda," Cheren replied softly without looking behind him. The door shut with a click. He stood still for a moment in the quiet. The only sounds now were the wind rustling and a Murkrow squawking in the distance. He plucked the paint chip from the railing and watched silently as it slowly fluttered to the ground.

•••••

"I hate cold weather," Cheren grumbled as he trudged through the snow. They were north of Snowpoint City now, and had just explored the temple. There was a guard at the entrance who only let them in on account of Hilda having beaten the Unova league. Despite that, there didn't seem to be much inside, Cheren thought. Maybe there was something hidden there. However, he didn't have much motivation to find it at the moment.

"I know. You've only told me about a hundred times since I've met you," Hilda teased.

"Still."

"But it was worth it, wasn't it? I thought those ruins were cool, at least."

"Yeah. I guess they were," Cheren said absentmindedly. Hilda stopped and turned her head to look at him.

"Cheren," she said, raising an eyebrow. "What's up?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you've been acting all moody this whole morning." Hilda put her hands on her hips. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it," Cheren shrugged.

"Is this about me not calling you?" asked Hilda. She studied Cheren for a moment. Realization flashed across her face. "It is. Listen, I apologized, Cheren. And I really am sorry!"

"I know," he replied flatly.

"I messed up, I know, but what do you want me to do about it now?" Hilda pleaded. "I can't exactly find a Celebi around here." Cheren was silent. Hilda scowled.

"How many more times do I need to apologize for you to not be angry at me?" she huffed.

"It's not about your apology, Hilda!" Cheren snapped back.

"Then what's it about?" Hilda cried.

"It's about me being in love with you!"

Hilda froze.

"Wh...What?"

"It's... it's not even that you didn't call me," Cheren said quietly. "You've never been one to call me anyway. And you were busy. And I was busy. I understand that. But..." his gaze dropped to the icy ground. "Some part of me always thought it was because I didn't mean anything to you. Like I was always just a stepping stone." Hilda's face clouded with a look of worry. She shook her head and opened her mouth to speak.

"Cheren, I-"

"Please, just let me finish," Cheren pleaded. "I always found myself thinking that, but I told myself it wasn't true, because we were friends, you know? You were just stronger than me, and better at battling, and had more important things to worry about. And that was that. I wasn't even upset, really. But when I found out you spent all that time just searching for N, without so much as a text to me... I realized that maybe I was right. I mean, he is a much more interesting person than I am. I get it." He shook his head. "I tried to not let it get to me. I do value our friendship. I always have. It's just... as of late I'm finding it difficult to accept that we'll be just friends forever."

"But, Cheren!" Hilda interjected, but Cheren cut her off again.

"No, Hilda, I don't want to hear-"

Hilda suddenly surged forward, grabbed onto his tie and pulled him closer to her. Cheren blinked. They stood frozen for a few heartbeats. And before his brain could register what was happening, Hilda bridged the distance between them with a kiss. It knocked the air out of his lungs and made his head feel like it was spinning all at once. Hilda pulled away, and Cheren stood blinking in surprise, his heart still racing.

"Now can I talk?" Hilda said, her face flushing red. Cheren was silent in response, still in a mild state of shock. Hilda took a step back.

"I never liked N like you think I did. I was searching for him all that time because we're friends, and friends look out for each other." She sighed. "I ended up saving him from Ghetsis, too, so it was lucky I did." 

"So then... you're not in love with him?" Cheren replied. Hilda shook her head and smiled.

"No. I like _you_ , silly," she laughed. Her expression softened slightly. "That stuff you said... none of it was true. You mean a lot to me. You always have." There was a moment of silence, and Hilda's face went red again. "Anyway," she said briskly, putting her hands on her hips. "Let's just forget about this whole mess. I still want to enjoy the remainder of the time we have left here. Also, I didn't want to say it earlier because I wanted to make fun of you, but frankly, I am also very cold, and I wanna go somewhere warm. Does that sound like a plan?" 

"Yeah," Cheren replied, smiling warmly. They began to trudge through the snow again towards the city.

"Man, for someone so smart, you can be pretty dumb sometimes," Hilda said teasingly after a moment of silence.

"Excuse me?" Cheren laughed.

•••••

Night had descended on the ferry to Castelia City as it moved steadily across the waves. Cheren stood on the deck, near the front of the ship, looking at the scenery. Stoutland sat next to him, fur covered in beads of sea spray. 

"Hilda," Cheren called. "Come look at this." Footsteps sounded behind him, and Hilda soon settled in next to him, leaning on the railing. Her gaze met the view of the city, and she inhaled sharply.

The skyline was breathtaking. Glimmering towers of glass and steel rose above the darkened streets, and the specks of light from windows sparkled like stars. The gentle glow of the city was reflected in the calm waves before it.

"Wow," Hilda breathed.

"That view never gets old, does it?" Cheren replied.

Hilda nodded in response, not taking her eyes from the skyline. She then lightly rested her head on his shoulder, her breath billowing out in clouds in the chilly night air. 

Cheren glanced down at her, smiled, and turned his gaze back up towards the horizon.

**Author's Note:**

> idk if anyone is actually reading checkmateshipping in the year 2020 but there is a criminally small amount of fics in this tag so I figured I'd do one myself bc u have to be the change u wanna see in the world 
> 
> also thank u so much for reading! (*^.^*)


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